The Journal of Nursing Regulation published an article exploring the alignment of Nurse Practitioner education and training, licensure, and certification with the scope of practice in US Emergency Departments.
The result:
NPs should NOT perform independent, unsupervised care in the emergency department regardless of state law or hospital regulations in order to protect patient safety.
The articles used multi-phased analysis from a variety of sources including looking at cross-section of states.
I concluded with:
Extensive variability exists across the academic preparation of NPs working in the ED setting as well as in the licensure and certification requirements governing NP practice in EDs. Until this variability is resolved, we conclude that NPs should not perform independent, unsupervised care in the ED regardless of state law or hospital regulations in order to protect patient safety.
To read the full report, click here.